Driving From The Philadelphia Area

[scanne]

Due to the recent tragedy, my family is leaning towards driving to WDW when we go in December. (I would fly, but one of my family members is adament about NOT flying). I got a trip-tik from AAA, but I was wondering if anyone who has driven this has any advice?? We're planning on leaving around 4pm on 12/21 and driving till about 10 or 11pm, stopping in Virginia or North Carolina just to sleep. When we resume our traveling on the 22nd, is it feasible that we'd get to WDW on the 22nd, or should we plan to stop again on the 22nd? DH and my dad will be doing most of the driving. Also, if we do get to Florida on the 22nd, I'm guessing it would be in the late afternoon, early evening and I don't want to pay for the GF that night. Should we try for an All Star or Moderate (we're AP holders) or just a motel on I-Drive? Any thoughts? Any advice? Thanks so much!


Peace and love to all!

 

[Chuck-PA]

We are from Philadelphia and we drove last August.
It took a total of 16 hours of driving.

 

[DisneyPoly]

We usually make the Bucks County to WDW trip in this fashion ...

We leave at 5:00 a.m. (best case scenario!!!!)
and drive to Hilton Head Island. (A 12 hour trip). We have family in HH, so we are able to visit and stay without charge.

In the a.m. we leave HH and make the 5 hour ride into Disney. Arriving around 4:00 p.m. -- just in time to check in. We still have time to unpack, enjoy a nice dinner and catch the fireworks.

Any further questions, don't hesitate to ask.

P.S. We travel with 2 adults and 4 children

 

[OKW91]

HI we live in Marlton and drive down twice a year, we leave around 5 AM and drive till about 7PM this usually brings us to St Marys GA, about 2 miles from the Florida state line. We drive the speed limit and it takes us about 17 1/2 hours to get to Tampa, I would guess that you would save an hour if you go directly to WDW. We like to go on the weekends, usually leaving on a Sunday morning, there is less traffic, including trucks!! We stop and gas up at half a tank and then switch drivers till the next fill up. Hope this helps, have a nice trip!!!

 

[DisDee]

We drove down in July of 2000 and I swore I would never do it again. We had 3 drivers (5) in the car total. As it stands now , we purchased our non-refundable tickets back in June for Jan. 2002. I plan to take my trip even if Spirit Airlines goes out of business, so who knows, maybe I will drive again.(Never say never) Good luck with your drive. Make lots of stops for stretching and meals and sanity! Stay on property that first night , it will make it all much more exciting. By the way-I work at the Paint Works in Gibbsboro-neighbor.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[scanne]

Thanks for the replies. We're thinking of doing the first leg of the trip to North Carolina and looking at furniture the day we're there. As of now we're planning on leaving Philly around 4pm on 12/21 and taking our time so that we arrive in WDW on 12/23 bright and early (like 8 or 9am). Don't know exactly how we're going to do this, but I've got a couple of months to plan! Thanks for the adivce!

DisDee,
I drive by Paint Works every day on my way to work! It's a small world after all!

Anne

 

[Kim&Chris]

Hi to all my fellow NJ Dis'ers.

We're doing the Auto Train. We 'catch' the train in Lorton, VA (just south of DC) and it drops us off in Sanford, FL (about 45 mins from WDW). I believe the train ride is about 18 hours.

We opted to do this because I HATE to drive, and I didn't want my husband feeling obligated to drive the whole time. The Auto Train allows us to take our car (so now we don't have to worry about spending $200 for a rental) and we'll get dinner, a movie, and breakfast.

Yes, it will take a long time, but we'll get into WDW around 11:00 am, which gives us plenty of time to enjoy a great Disney day!!